The first day of informals at the Development Agenda meeting this week concluded at around 7:10 PM. Cluster A on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building was discussed. Early reports indicate good progress was made (on the 4 paragraphs of agreed text contained in the Cluster A recommendations) but the negotiations on Cluster A have not yet been concluded.
The future of the WIPO Development Agenda enters a crucial phase this week as WIPO Member States meet at the fourth session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA). Continue Reading
This decision by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) involves a dispute over the proper remedy for the importation of various infringing chips made by Qualcom that are used in cell phones. The Qualcom chips infringe on patents held by Broadcom.
This is a link to David Serafino’s blog of the May 30 brownbag discussion on new U.S. trade policy and access to medicine. David’s blog includes comments from a number of persons, including Fabiana Jorge of MFJ International, Rob Weissman of Essential Action, Stephanie Burgos of Oxfam, Brook Baker from Health Gap, Shawn Brown of GPHA, Matt Kavanaugh of Student Global AIDS Campaign, Buddhi Lokuge of Doctors Without Borders, and James Love of Knowledge Ecology International.
Earlier this week, I met in Seoul with civil society fighting the Korus FTA. They are generally opposed to reopening negotiations at this point, but if they do, they hope to have the intellectual property and access to medicines provisions reopened. Continue Reading
According to this GQ story, the H-Prize (HR 632, 110th Congress) passed the House today by a vote of 408 to 8.
Every two years, H-Prizes worth $1 million would be given in four categories: production, storage, distribution and utilization. One $4 million prize would be awarded for hydrogen vehicles. At the end of 10 years, a $10 million grand prize would be given for a “transformational advance in hydrogen energy technology.”
The first American regional meeting on the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property (IGWG) is scheduled for June 18, 2007 in Washington, DC. This first meeting is organized by PAHO, at the request of the Bolivian Government.
More meetings and working groups are going to be organized this summer and fall in preparation for the II IGWG next November 2007.
To facilitate Latin American governments and civil society effective participation in the WHO IGWG process and their better understanding of some of the proposals, KEI has prepared a report in Spanish.
To access an electronic copy of the report, visit: https://www.keionline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49